Research & Innovation

Equinix, the global interconnection and data centre company, has announced the results of an independent study that found that Irish IT decision-makers fear the impact of rising data volumes and the ability to manage them. The survey of 100 Irish IT-decision makers found that Ireland’s IT leaders believe IoT will put significant pressure on data infrastructure over the coming years.

Some 47% believe IoT is the future technology that will put the greatest burden on the internet in the future. Because of this, 60% say data centre hubs will need to be installed in every town due to the rising number of IoT devices at home and in the workplace.

To handle the rise in data traffic, Ireland’s IT decision-makers believe undersea cables are essential. While the undersea cable network connecting Ireland to the US and Europe continues to expand, 40% of those surveyed by Equinix believe it won’t be enough to cope with the surge in volume of data traffic in the next three years. A further 38% say there won’t be enough data centres in the same timeframe.

The proliferation of data-hungry technologies is putting immense pressure on the public internet and 21% of senior IT execs believe data traffic will become so vast that the public internet will crash.

Equinix has found that more and more Irish enterprises are avoiding the public internet and instead choosing direct physical and virtual interconnections to allow for more reliable, fast and secure performance. Equinix’s second annual Global Interconnection Index (GXI) found that this worldwide trend means the growth of private connectivity between businesses will be 10 times the growth in volume of internet traffic in the next three years.

Maurice Mortell (pictured), Managing Director for Ireland and Emerging Markets, Equinix, said: “Irish businesses are preparing for a data storm in the coming years and they require the infrastructure and tools to cope with this and benefit from it. Data is a high-value commodity today and when used correctly, it can transform businesses.

“Our digital economy is growing and Ireland has positioned itself as a top place in Europe to do digital business. At Equinix, we encourage continued investment in Ireland’s digital infrastructure and are working hard to ensure we are helping Irish enterprises digitally transform, scale quickly and enter new markets through interconnection.”